Vietnam-Kazakhstan relations in new period

• Kazakhstani President begins three-day visit to Vietnam

Vietnam - Kazakhstan diplomatic ties were established on September 26, 1992. Based on their fine relationship, both sides are keen to boost multifaceted cooperation in various fields such as politics, economics, trade and culture. They are also committed to supporting each other at the UN and other international forums, thus helping raise their status in the international arena.

Kazakhstan advocated Vietnam as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2008-2009 term, and the two countries recognized each other as a full market economy without international legal documents.

Kazakhstan positively supported Vietnam’s admission to the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Istanbul, Turkey in June last year.

Kazakhstani President Nazarbeyev welcomed PM Dung's visit in 2009.

Bilateral relations were further strengthened when Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung decided to set up a Vietnamese Embassy in Kazakhstan in April 2007. In January 2009, Vietnamese ambassador to Kazakhstan Vu The Hiep presented his credentials.

Both sides exchanged high-ranking delegations on a regular basis. Worthy of note were Kazakhstan visits by senior Vietnamese leaders, including Former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet in June 1994, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in September 2009, former Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam in February 1994, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong in March 1999, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s External Relations Commission Vuong Thua Phong in August 2011, and assistant to the Foreign Minister Doan Viet Trung in June 2005 and May 2007.

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Kazakhstan subcommittee of the Vietnam-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Committee for Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technological Cooperation visited Vietnam in December 2009 and in April 2011.

The two countries approved a mechanism for political consultations at deputy foreign ministerial level and held consultations in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011.

The Vietnam-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Committee held its five sessions in Vietnam and Kazakhstan. The fifth session took place in September 2011 in Astana with the signing of the Vietnam-Kazakhstan joint action plan for the 2011-2013 period.

President Nursultan Nazarbeyev’s visit to Vietnam- the first one by a senior Kazakhstani leader- is considered a new landmark in bilateral relations.

Tapping potential from both countries

Kazakhstan is an industrial and agricultural country which has a politically important geographical position and abundant natural resources. The country’s oil reserves rank eighth in the world with its Caspi sea area estimated at 8 billion tones. In addition, Kazakhstan ranks third in chrome reserves, second in uranium reserves, fourth in tin reserves and eighth in gold and coal reserves.

Kazakhstan’s economy has achieved a high growth rate with GDP increasing by 7 percent in 2010 and 7.1 percent in the first half of this year. Last year, Kazakhstan attracted roughly US$14 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), including US$1.7 billion in the fuels and raw materials areas.

PM Dung and President Nazarbeyev met on the sidelines of the Boao Economic Forum for Asia in Hainan, China 2009.

In terms of economic cooperation, Vietnam and Kazakhstan have engaged in the process of research into negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Vietnam and the Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan customs alliance and expected to finalize their research results later this year for submission to the Vietnamese government leader and customs alliance members.

The two countries have recently signed a series of resolutions and memorandums of understanding (MoU) and framework agreements, including an agreement on strategic cooperation between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and Kazakhstan’s National Oil and Gas Company in September 2009.

However, trade cooperation between Vietnam and Kazakhstan is still far from matching their potential as two-way trade remains low. During his visit to Kazakhstan in 2009, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that strengthening long-term all-round cooperation with Kazakhstan is one of the top priorities in Vietnam’s external policy.

In this visit, President Nursultan Nazarbeyev and PM Nguyen Tan Dung agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in such areas as economics, trade, investment, science and technology, and tourism.

At the reception for Kazakhstani Deputy Foreign Minister Kazhykhanov Yerzhan who visited Vietnam in April 2011, PM Dung asked Kazakhstan to open its embassy in Vietnam to boost cooperation between the two countries. The opening ceremony is expected to take place earlier than expected, probably next year.

Vietnamese ambassador to Kazakhstan Vu The Hiep said he hopes the Kazakhstani President’s visit will help further strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Regarding future economic cooperation, Mr Hiep said Kazakhstan is actually an attractive destination for Vietnamese investors, especially in terms of oil and gas, minerals and natural resources, garments and textiles and agricultural products.

In return, Kazakhstani investors are showing their keen interest in the Vietnamese market, he noted.